OLA Quarterly

Volume 7 Number 1 International Librarianship, Part 2 (Spring 2001)

July 2014

Journey of Purpose: Reflections on Philippine Libraries and Librarianship

Remy Agudelo Multnomah County Library

Recommended Citation Agudelo, R. (2014). Journey of Purpose: Reflections on Philippine Libraries and Librarianship. OLA Quarterly, 7(1), 20-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1573

© 2014 by the author(s). OLA Quarterly is an official publication of the egonOr Library Association | ISSN 1093-7374 playground, a grandstand, and a long promenade adja- Journey of Purpose: cent to Manila Bay. About a stone’s throw from the park is the National Library of the Philippines. It is located on Reflections on Philippine the southeast side of Rizal Park with a total of 26,400 square feet of ground space and a total floor space of Libraries and Librarianship 198,700 square feet.

by Remy Agudelo The National Library is comprised of several divisions: Administrative; Asia and Oceania; Bibliographic Services; Multnomah County Library Catalog; Collection Development; Filipiniana; Library for the Blind; Public Libraries; Publication and Special Ser- vices; and Reference. Library collections include mono- graphs, rare books, government documents, films, mi- croforms and other audio-visual materials. The library also operates fourteen bookmobiles and 785 public li- he first time I traveled after so many years of ab- braries. There is an Online Public Access Catalog with sence had a sad note. I was going to attend the last GUI-based library software. Trites for my grandmother. I promised myself that the next time would be a joyful occasion. Well, the dream PAST finally came true. The Philippine library system may have originated at the time of Spain’s colonization of the area. The King of Spain The dreamed-of vacation came during the passage of had dictated that no secular literature was to go into the Republic Act No. 6966, otherwise known as the “Philip- new colonies. The King wanted no distraction for either pine Librarianship Act,” We arrived at the Manila Interna- conquerors or natives, so only religious books brought tional Airport to a beautiful day of sunshine, delightful by the missionaries found their way to the island. King greetings and smiling faces. Morning is the best time to Phillip II complied with this dictate in the conquest and arrive when you can look at everything around and de- control of the archipelago for the spreading of the faith light at the scenery you have not seen for a long time. and the establishment of a closed trading port in Manila. The old airport had been replaced by a new one with shiny polished floors, air-conditioning, and numerous The first book collections came with the Spanish mis- seats for waiting passengers. There were lots of shops, sionaries, one of which was owned by Bishop Domingo local and foreign, catering to the traveler. Manila has been de Salazar. Other collections, mostly academic, followed the principal city of the Philippines for four centuries. It but were gutted by fire. To enrich their collections, the is the center of industrial development as well as the missionaries engaged in book trading with the Chinese international port of entry, and is situated on one of the merchants and brought books from Europe. The intro- finest harbors of the Far East about 700 miles southeast duction of printing was a result of the missionaries’ zeal of Hong Kong. The harbor makes it an excellent site for for learning. Printing skills were borrowed from the Chi- access to inland agricultural areas by way of rivers. nese, and the first printer was a Chinese convert named Juan de Vera. The first printed book was the Doctrina Not too far from the airport is the Nayong Pilipino theme Christiana. park which showcases this country of 7,107 islands en- livened by the astonishing diversity of 111 linguistic, cul- The root of the modern Philippine library may be traced tural and racial groups. Found in the 46-hectare parkland to the so-called Age of Enlightenment during the time of are replicas of six major regions in the archipelago and King Charles III. He introduced a number of initiatives, the Museum of Ethnology, with exhibits of ethnological which resulted in the creation of Sociedades Economicas objects and artifacts of the Philippines’ rich and diverse in every subject field known at that period of time, in cultural history. Spain and in the colonies.

Along the way from the airport, we passed the Philip- In the Philippines, Sociedad Economicas were started by pine Cultural Center, an institution mandated by Philip- Governor Jose de Basco y Vargas. A Sociedad’s function pine laws to preserve, promote and enhance the Filipino was mostly the free distribution of books. The creation people’s cultural heritage. Nearby is the Folk Arts The- of the Sociedad signaled the start of a new beginning in ater used for popular performances, which draw large Philippine library history The Spanish government in 1858 audiences. Within the Cultural Center complex is also defined public libraries as the national library, university the Coconut Palace, which displays regional Filipino art- libraries, provincial libraries, and all those which ad- istry in the use of the coconut tree. Over seventy percent dressed public education in general. Combining these of the structure is made from different parts of this tree. different types of public libraries gave rise to the concept of popular libraries in the Philippines in 1871. Informa- A ten-minute ride from the Center takes us to the fore- tion and educational materials would be the main hold- most outdoor recreational area, Rizal Park, named after ings of these libraries, and management was entrusted to the national hero, Jose Rizal. Within Rizal Park are a Japa- the teachers. Group reading and the circulation of mate- nese garden, a Chinese garden, an open-air theater, a rials was encouraged and allowed. Funding would come

SPRING 2001 20 from the local and the central government. It was not From 1950 to 1970, the Philippines developed library train- until 1887 that the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas was es- ing programs and courses patterned after those of the tablished under the Department of Civil Administration. United States with master’s degree studies from abroad. It was a true public library as it received public funding, As the programs grew, nonprofessional staff in post-war had a Filipino scholar as director, and utilized a mini- libraries were replaced by professional librarians. mum of professional staff. This institution was the begin- ning of the Philippine National Library until the war broke The growing number of librarians became members of out in 1898. the Philippine Library Association, the Association of Special Libraries of the Philippines, and the Philippine The Philippine War of Independence, which started in Association of School Libraries. The quest for status be- 1896 against the Spaniards, turned against the Americans gan in earnest when librarians from the University of the and ended in September of 1902. The collections of the Philippines successfully secured for themselves academic Museo were damaged during the war and were initially status. Members of the Philippine Library Association donated to the American Circulating Library, a private sought the help of Senator Eva Kalaw who, in 1966, in- association. However, because the association could not troduced Senate Bill 916, “An Act to Regulate the Prac- assume responsibility for the expenses of the library, the tice of Librarianship in the Philippines and for Other Pur- collection was donated to the American Military govern- poses.” This bill started the seemingly endless fight for ment in the Philippines. status recognition like that of other professions.

The American government was committed to the estab- Various associations coordinated their efforts to lay the lishment of a strong public educational system and pub- foundation to raise the standards of practice of lic service in the Philippines through which democratic librarianship and competencies. Their suggestions for ideas were introduced. The restructuring of society was improvement covered the areas of continuing education to be accomplished by the addition of a large number of and training of members through seminars and work- American teachers. These newly arrived teachers endured shops, formulation of standards, and undertaking of difficult conditions and limited resources. The resulting projects to produce materials that would be useful for effort culminated in the development of the first Philip- students and teachers of library science. pine school library system. The number of school librar- ies increased, and the number of books acquired tripled. This struggle for identity was slowed by controversies and political upheavals in 1972 and 1986. Then in Sep- The American pioneers introduced modern library stan- tember of 1990, Republic Act 6966, known as the “Philip- dards while Filipinos contributed to the collection, schol- pine Librarianship Act: Regulating the Practice of arly support and leadership. The foundation of Philip- Librarianship and Prescribing the Qualifications of Librar- pine librarianship was forged by Lois Osborn, Mary Polk, ians in the Country” was enacted. The Filipino librarian and James Robertson in 1914 through the establishment has the distinction of being the first librarian in the world of library courses at the University of the Philippines to be professionalized through the legislative process. and the Philippine Normal School. Scholarships from the U. S. government to train selected students in pro- Provisions of Republic Act 6966 included the meaning of fessional schools outside the country were obtained. the term “librarian.” The scope of practice of librarianship Four students continued their studies at the University is defined in section 2(b) of the law as (1) “the holding of Wisconsin. This trend became the norm for those out of self as skilled in the knowledge, art, and science who would become teachers of the field at the state of the organization, dissemination, preservation, and con- university. Library students were free to choose which servation of recorded information;” (2) “the rendering, United States university to attend, and all were granted furnishing, and contracting of professional services such scholarships from U. S. benefactors, mostly the Ford as consultations and advice on the organization and man- and Rockefeller Foundations. agement of libraries, data banks, research and informa- tion centers to clients on a fee basis or otherwise;“ (3) The Second World War devastated the country again. The “the teaching of subjects in the library and information almost total destruction of the libraries severely depleted sciences;” and (4) “the signing or authenticating for cli- the country’s scholarly resources. Post-war rehabilitation ents of documents of reports when called for.” endangered the libraries’ already depleted collections. The first initiative included a collection of materials from the PRESENT United States Information Service; however, books distrib- The practice of librarianship in the Philippines requires a uted among the public libraries did not suit the needs of certificate of registration that constitutes a license granted the readers. The University of the Philippines also obtained by the Board for Librarians to qualified applicants. Quali- large shipments of materials from the University of Michi- fying examinations consist of a general information test gan and the University of Southern California at Los Ange- and a professional test. The general information test is an les. The libraries relied heavily on donations from public assessment of general knowledge, while the professional and private institutions from other countries, especially test seeks to evaluate competence in the various skills and from the United States. Rehabilitation programs also in- competencies of librarianship such as (1) the selection and cluded training and other types of cooperation between acquisition of library materials; (2) cataloging and classifi- agencies and universities of higher learning. cation; (3) indexing and abstracting; (4) organization and

SPRING 2001 21 management of libraries and information centers; (5) in- American foundation. Its library collection is broad in formation technology; and (6) other subjects that the Board scope, covering adequately the fields of law, business for Librarians may deem necessary. Candidates may sit for and computer science. It has an excellent reference col- the qualifying examinations three successive years. If they lection, historical books on Philippine jurisprudence, fail for the third consecutive time, they can try again pro- databases, and CD-ROM collections. The library operates vided they take a refresher course from a duly accredited on an open stock system. It uses two distinct systems of school or its equivalent. classifying book collections: the Library of Congress clas- sification system for business and computer books, and The Board for Librarians is responsible for issuing the the Los Angeles County Law Library Classification scheme certificate of registration or license to those who have for law books. Law journals are simply arranged by title. successfully passed the qualifying examination. The Board is also responsible for sanctions both administrative and Access to the collection is provided through a local area penal to its members. Punishment is by payment of fines network. The basic guide to the collection is the Library or by imprisonment of not less than one month or not Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The circulation more than two years depending on the severity of the system is computerized and contains information on all offense. Suspension or revocation of certificate will also books on loan to faculty and students. An in-house in- accompany offenses. dex is used to retrieve local periodical literature and the theses collection. The library also stores foreign materi- On June 2, 1992, the Board for Librarians promulgated als on compact discs such as NAFTA, United States Su- Resolution 01 entitled “Rules and Regulations Implement- preme Court Cases from 1793 to June 1999, World Trade ing Republic Act 6966: Philippine Librarianship Act.” On Organization documents, and the Asia Pacific Economic August 4, 1992, the legal body promulgated the “Code of Cooperation papers. Ethics for Registered Librarians.” This document consists of a preamble and 32 sections grouped into six articles. University of the Philippines Library The preamble emphasizes the librarian’s mission as a The last stop for the day was the University of the Philip- professional “imbued with lofty ideals of service to people pines Library. Like the Ateneo, the University of the Phil- through books and other records of knowledge, a ser- ippines has one of the best-run libraries in the Philip- vice they believe is their best way to serve humanity, pines. Its funding source is mainly the Philippine gov- enrich people’s lives, and attain self-actualization” ernment. Foreign countries and foreign institutions give donations for the improvement and addition to its collec- From the National Library we proceeded a short distance tion. The collection is housed in a five-story building toward Intramuros, a walled city containing fifteen located in the middle of the huge tree-lined campus, and churches and six monasteries. Manila Cathedral and the is cataloged by the Library of Congress classification sys- San Agustin Church, one of the oldest stone churches in tem. It serves students as well as researchers from all the Philippines, are located within Intramuros. The ruins areas of the country and the world. of Fort Santiago are now used as a public park and the location for the Rizal Shrine Museum. The Museum is The next day was a day for relaxation with old friends dedicated to the memory of the national hero, Jose Rizal. and relations. After two days we continued to the prov- ince to visit other relatives and enjoy rural scenery. We As we traveled on toward Quezon City, we saw a mix- flew to Bacolod, one of the regions south of Manila. ture of residential, commercial and military buildings. The Bacolod is the known as the ’City of Smiles“ and boasts different rooftops signify the different architectural styles old churches that date back to Spanish times. prevalent in the city. One of the most noticeable is the building of the Asian Development Bank, an international In Bacolod we visited a public school library, a small organization making the Philippines its home. room in a public building, the same kind of library build- ing I used to frequent as a child. The books were old and Asian Development Bank Library showed signs of overuse. I am so spoiled with all the The Asian Development Bank Library has a collection of new books I handle in our library here. The library here 200,000 volumes. The collection is housed in open shelves is somewhat improved as the collection is organized by a and is mainly for use of the ADB staff. It has a depository teacher who is also the librarian. The conditions are similar program for country and economic studies, technical to those described by the assistant librarian of the Notre papers, annual reports of member banks in other coun- Dame High School of Belmont, California in School Li- tries of Asia and Europe, and technical assistance projects brary Journal (May 2000: 50-52). Collections are meager, and other informational materials. The bank library is and funding is nonexistent. Donations are very much one of the most well furnished libraries in the area. appreciated.

Ateneo de Manila Library FUTURE One other library we visited was the Ateneo de Manila Going digital is the trend these days, and Philippine li- Library. Ateneo is one of the private universities man- braries are not about to be left behind. Many of the ma- aged by the Catholic Church’s Society of Jesus. The Li- terials to be digitized are part of the libraries’ Filipiniana brary building was built with the help of a well-known collections. For instance, the Filipinas Heritage Library,

SPRING 2001 22 operated by the Ayala Foundation, is currently working automation likewise hinders the implementation of com- on the digitization of its library collection to be made puterization. Librarians do not have a negative attitude available through the Internet and CD-ROMs. Ms. Almario, but are concerned about the lack of a government policy the library director, said the digitization of the collection to support the implementation of automation. is part of their “service to researchers.” She referred to the collection as an electronic resource center that tries Can Philippine libraries keep themselves up-to-date? This to appeal to the younger generation through information is a question that everyone is asking. Only the future can technology and telecommunications. tell. Filipino librarians are certainly trying.

A random check of libraries in Metro Manila indicates that computerization of library system is in its infancy stage, as stated by some librarians interviewed by Busi- ness World Online. Many libraries are automated in the sense that they use electronic access tools like CD-ROM databases and the OPAC. In most Philippine libraries, however, researchers still need to go physically to the library to access their collections. Only a few have bib- liographic databases accessible via the Internet.

Financial problems are shared by librarians nationwide, noted R. Tarlit, President of the Philippine Library Asso- ciation, Inc. He told Business World Online that mem- bers are aware of the need to computerize but generally agree that funds are lacking to do so. Lack of expertise in The Philippine National Library.

Books Under Glass (Continued from page 6)

Laushway E. Not one for the books. Europe May, 1999: 38. Shaw J. Construction for culture. Europe Business Review. March 3, 2000: 52. Lottman H. Paris’s New Library A Disaster Publishers Weekly November 23, 1998:15. Smith A. Critics throw book at pounds 1BN French Li- brary. The Guardian (London) December 17, 1996: For- Masters C. New French library opens to a full stop. Sunday eign Page: 13. Telegraph (London) International October 25, 1998: 33. Sudjic D. Towers raised to capitalist vanity. Manchester McGuire P., 1998. Tours de Force. The Architectural Re- Guardian Weekly January 28,1996: 25. view. 203:77. Wenzel S., 1999. From Revolution to Evolution: the Le Monde. Bibliotheque Francois-Mitterand: transformation of the Bibliotheque Nationale into the l’intersyndicale de la Bibliotheque nationale de France a Bibliotheque Nationale de France, through the lens denonce les dysfonctionnements de l’establissement et of popular and professional reports. Library Quarterly le manque de personnel. Le Monde December 18, 1996: 69: 324. Culture Page. Facility Planning Resources: Example of Library Building Perrault D., 1995. Bibliotheque Nationale de France 1989– Planning as Participatory Process 1995. Artemis, Paris. http://www.cofc.edu/~seay/newlib/ notesfromplanningsession.html Resource for Urban Design Information. Paris Case Study: Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Quai de la Gare. Dec. Library Science Course on Library Facility Planning 16, 2000: http://www2.rudi.net/cs/paris/bib.htm. http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~lis388k/course pres_polk.html Sancton T. Brought To Book: Paris’ Bibliotheque Nationale finally opens its high-tech, high-profile research library. Library Facility Planning Resource The computers crash. The staff strikes. Livres la France! http://www.slais.ubc.ca/resources/architecture Time International November 23, 1998: 60. Index3.html

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